1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to pulse oximetry, and more particularly to tones and alarms generated by pulse oximetry systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
In the field of medicine, doctors often desire to monitor certain physiological characteristics of their patients. Accordingly, a wide variety of devices have been developed for monitoring physiological characteristics of a patient. Such devices provide doctors and other healthcare personnel with the information they need to provide the best possible healthcare for their patients. As a result, such monitoring devices have become an indispensable part of modern medicine.
One technique for monitoring certain physiological characteristics of a patient is commonly referred to as pulse oximetry, and the devices built based upon pulse oximetry techniques are commonly referred to as pulse oximeters. Pulse oximetry may be used to measure various blood flow characteristics, such as the blood-oxygen saturation (SpO2) of hemoglobin in arterial blood, the volume of individual blood pulsations supplying the tissue, and/or the rate of blood pulsations corresponding to each heartbeat of a patient. In fact, the “pulse” in pulse oximetry refers to the time varying amount of arterial blood in the tissue during each cardiac cycle.
Pulse oximeters typically utilize a non-invasive sensor that transmits light through a patient's tissue and that photoelectrically senses the absorption and/or scattering of the transmitted light in such tissue. Data of light absorbance and/or scatter in a patient's tissue is processed by the pulse oximetry system to derive meaningful and conveyable physiological data of the patient for use by clinicians. Accordingly, pulse oximeters typically employ means to convey a patient's physiological parameters that are monitored by the pulse oximetry system. Correspondingly, changes in status of such parameters may invoke an appropriate action by a clinician to address such changes. As such, pulse oximetry systems normally employ audible alarms or beep tones, possibly comprising various frequencies, pitches, and/or volume amplitudes to convey physiologically monitored information, changes in such information or the absence of change in such information. Furthermore, in a clinical setting, such as an operating room, a patient may be monitored for numerous physiological parameters in addition to those associated with pulse oximetry. Hence, monitoring additional parameters may encompass additional audible systems, each having its own set of beeps and alarms. In such a setting, there exists a potential for confusion due to the number of audible monitoring tones and their potential similarity.
Furthermore, prolonged usage of specific monitoring equipment having distinctive alarms and beep tones may, over time, condition the clinician to respond to specific sounds generated by the monitoring system. Being conditioned to specific alarms which correspond to particular physiological parameters, a clinician can respond directly to a patient's needs without having to first physically access the monitoring system. Consequently, replacement of monitoring equipment having different alarm types may necessitate a clinician to recondition his/hers reaction to correspond to the new alarm and/or tone. Therefore, it may be time consuming and inconvenient for a clinician to get adapted to new alarm types in instances where monitoring equipment is replaced. Further, this may lead to clinician error in misinterpreting alarms and/or tones, potentially causing the clinician to improperly respond to a medical condition.